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CFB TRENTON - It might not have been the best known aircraft in Canada, but the last operational Boeing 720 in the world made history here Wednesday.

The red and white aircraft C-FETB - the 154th and last 720 built by Pratt & Whitney Canada - marked the end of the fleet's legacy by travelling from Saint-Hubert, QC to Canada's largest air base.

Around 3 p.m. dozens of people like Bancroft resident Barney Moorhouse and Trenton resident Celeste Odono standing along RCAF Road in Trenton watched closely as the now-retired C-FETB piloted by Capt. Stephen Krochenski flew over the base twice.

"I didn't know anything about the aircraft before I read something in the newspaper that said that it would be landing here (Trenton) for a last time," said Odono.

"My husband is military and we live just up the road, so I though I should go out and get some photos of this historic moment."

Eager to preserve this historically significant test bed aircraft, Pratt & Whitney (the most important manufacturer of turboprop and small turbofan engines in the world) and the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa came to an agreement that will see the 720 go on loan to the National Air Force Museum of Canada (NAFMC) in Trenton "for an indefinite period of time," said Barb Neri, public relations manager at the NAFMC.

The aircraft was officially passed over to the museum and its executive director Chris Colton and will be displayed in the museum's airpark, beginning in July. It will be the 26th aircraft on display at NAFMC - the 21st in the outdoor airpark.

"By being displayed in our airpark (at NAFMC), the aircraft will keep telling its rich story for generations to come," said Colton.

Introduced by Boeing in 1959, the 720 is a smaller capacity, lighter and medium-range version of the 707 - one of the most successful airliners of the 20th century. The aircraft - built in 1988 - was the 720 flying test bed operated by the Quebec-based manufacturer until 2010 and had never flown or landed in Trenton before (154 aircraft were produced from 1958 to 1967).

Krochenski, a pilot with the Quebec-based manufacturer for six years (five years on the 720), described the historic one-hour flight as "bumpy," but fun.

"I was a bit sad for us (the crew) to think that this was our last flight with the aircraft," said the pilot, while taking a good last look at "his" 720.

"It's a bit sad to see it retiring, but we are happy that this two-year project in the making to donate the aircraft to the the museum (NAFMC) came through."